N.J. Attorney General unveils anti-corruption commission: What it means for government transparency
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin today announced the creation of a commission tasked with recommending ways his office can further its mission of eliminating corruption, promoting transparency and strengthening the public’s trust in government.
“Right now, too many people in our state feel that the wealthy and well-connected play by a different set of rules. But it does not have to be this way,” Platkin said. “Since day one of my tenure, my office has fought to secure trust in our system and root out corruption. We have increased transparency in law enforcement, created new offices dedicated to regulating and holding powerful industries to account and made prosecuting public corruption a priority. But I know we can do more.”
Commissioners will hold listening sessions throughout New Jersey to solicit public input. Information on the TRUST Commission and the schedule for listening sessions will be posted on the Attorney General’s website.
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New Jersey Working Families Party State Director Antoinette Miles said the new anti-corruption commission couldn’t have come at a better time.
“Powerful insiders play by their own set of rules, treating public office like a piggy bank and then acting like it’s business as usual,” Miles said. “When you have a senator taking gold bars as bribes and an indicted party boss throwing a disco party with former governors between his criminal court hearings, you know that the system is broken.”
Miles said the commission will bring the state one step closer to real accountability that doesn’t allow people in power to buy or bully their way out of justice. “The Attorney General deserves a lot of credit for his work to root out corruption, both inside and outside of the courtroom,” she said.
Thirteen people have been appointed to serve on the TRUST Commission. They include community advocates, scholars, former members of the judiciary and prosecutors who share a commitment to building trust between government and the people it serves, Platkin said.
In addition to Platkin, the members are:
- Sue Altman, state director for U.S. Sen. Andy Kim
- Charles Boyer, pastor of Greater Mt. Zion A.M.E. Church in Trenton, co-founder of Salvation and Social Justice
- Ronald Chen, professor at Rutgers University, former dean and co-dean of Rutgers Law School
- Jennifer Davenport, deputy general counsel at PSEG, former first assistant attorney general of New Jersey
- John Farmer Jr., university professor at Rutgers University, former assistant U.S. attorney, New Jersey attorney general and dean of Rutgers Law School
- Paul Fishman, partner at Arnold & Porter, former U.S. attorney for New Jersey
- Jeannine LaRue, senior vice president at Kaufman Zita Group
- Virginia Long, retired New Jersey Supreme Court justice
- Edward Neafsey, adjunct professor at Rutgers Law School in Newark, former first assistant attorney general and retired New Jersey Superior Court judge
- Hetty Rosenstein, former New Jersey state director for the Communications Workers of America
- Edwin Stier, member of Stier Anderson LLC, former director of the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice
- Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University
The TRUST Commission held its first meeting on Thursday, one day after former Sen. Bob Menendez was sentenced to 11 years in prison following his conviction on bribery and corruption charges.
Platkin has asked the commission to complete its work and issue a written report with recommendations within six months.
TRUST mission statement
The TRUST Commission is tasked with providing the Attorney General recommendations on ways the Department of Law and Public Safety can further its mission to eliminate corruption, promote transparency, and strengthen the public’s trust in government. These recommendations will build upon work already undertaken by the Office of the Attorney General to promote a more equitable and just system of government. Because these recommendations will serve to build trust between the government and the people it serves, the TRUST Commission will call upon the residents of New Jersey for input. The Commission will hold public listening sessions to make sure its recommendations are grounded in what the public needs to feel appropriately served by its public leaders.
Op-ed piece
Platkin wrote the following op-ed piece about the initiative.
TRUST in New Jersey
By Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin
New Jersey is known for many things: our shore, Taylor Ham, Springsteen. And, unfortunately, a history of public corruption.
As New Jersey’s Attorney General, I have made rooting out corruption, in all its forms, a top priority. Let me be clear: corruption is not a victimless crime. Any time a public official abuses their office or places their private interests above the public good, real people get hurt. When public resources are diverted to benefit a powerful few, it means there is less to go around for the rest. That means less money for our schools or parks or healthcare programs. And it means we are all left to pick up the tab, usually in the form of higher taxes.
I know that, right now, too many in our State feel that the wealthy and well-connected play by a different set of rules. Corruption, when left unchecked, destroys the fundamental agreement between the government and the people we swear an oath to serve. It fosters a cynicism about public servants that is all too pervasive today. And ultimately, it undermines our democracy as a whole. And too often, it has turned our State into a national punchline.
But it does not have to be this way. That is why I recently announced a first-of-its-kind Commission designed to strengthen the connection between my office and the people of New Jersey. The 13 members of the TRUST (Transparency and Reliability Uniting to Secure Trust) Commission were specifically chosen for their perspective, expertise, and shared commitment to promoting a fair and just system of government. They include community advocates, scholars, and former members of the judiciary and credible prosecutors, all of whom have dedicated their careers to building trust between our government and the people it serves.
This Commission will build upon the work my office has done over the past three years to promote transparency and accountability. We increased transparency in law enforcement by assuming operational control of the Paterson Police Department. I implemented ARRIVE, the first-in-the-nation statewide alternative crisis response program. I launched lawsuits and created new offices, such as the SAFE (Statewide Affirmative Firearms Enforcement) Office to regulate and hold powerful industries like social media giants, gun companies, and opioid manufacturers to account. And I took steps to strengthen the integrity in our state’s election system.
I also dedicated considerable resources to eliminating corruption wherever it occurs – and I certainly have not been afraid to hold the powerful to account. That includes investigating and prosecuting corruption crimes, including through our Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA).
Created in 2019, OPIA has a broad mandate: it investigates and prosecutes cases of public corruption; it oversees the investigation of every fatal police encounter in the State; it pursues sensitive police internal affairs investigations; and it has promulgated nationally recognized policing policy reforms, including the first updates to our State’s use-of-force policy in decades.
OPIA is led by career prosecutors and investigators dedicated to doing what is right. My job, and OPIA’s job, is to pursue any investigation, without fear or favor and without regard to where it may lead. And OPIA has been productive in that effort, having obtained well over 100 favorable dispositions since its inception, and just shy of 50 in the past three years alone.
While this work may not always be popular in halls of power, it is fundamental to our democracy. Indeed, at a time when the unelected justices on the U.S. Supreme Court has tied federal prosecutors’ hands and limited their ability to prosecute corruption crimes – and as distrust in government rises to an all-time high – it is incumbent on State prosecuting agencies, like my office, to redouble our efforts to fight corruption.
I am very proud of the work we have done to date — but I know we can do more. Therefore, I have asked the Commission to provide recommendations to me within six months on how my office can further the mission of fighting corruption and strengthening the public’s trust in government. And as part of this effort, the Commission will hold public hearings throughout the state to solicit public input. You can read more about the Commission’s work at [insert website].
Our State’s reputation for public corruption should offend us all. The people of New Jersey deserve a government that they can trust—one they can see and understand, one that protects and serves all. I am committed to this goal and making that a reality for everyone who calls New Jersey home.
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Krystal Knapp is the founder of The Jersey Vindicator and the hyperlocal news website Planet Princeton. Previously she was a reporter at The Trenton Times for a decade. Prior to becoming a journalist she worked for Centurion, a Princeton-based nonprofit that works to free the innocent from prison. A graduate of Smith College, she earned her master's of divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary and her master's certificate in entrepreneurial journalism from The Craig Newmark School of Journalism at CUNY.